When it rains, it pours: Climate change to increase rainfall - USATODAY.com Cars Auto Financing Event Tickets Jobs Real Estate Online Degrees Business Opportunities Shopping SearchHow do I find it?Subscribe to paper Home News Travel Money Sports Life Tech WeatherTechnology » Science & Space Shop for Gadgets Related Advertising LinksWhat's This? "Teeth Whiteners Exposed" 7 Teeth Whitening Products Tested, Rated, and… www.Best-Teeth-Whitening.com High Blood Pressure Cured Drop 30 Points in 30 Days. As Seen on Oprah and CNN. www.Hyperzosin.com Advertisement Margaret Newfeld is taken to safety by firefighters in Yountville, Calif., in Feb. 1998. Intense El Nino-fueled rainstorms killed 17 people in California during the winter of 1997-98. By Al Francis, The Vacaville Reporter/AP When it rains, it pours: Climate change to increase rainfall Updated 1d 4h ago | Comment | Recommend E-mail | Save | Print | Reprints & Permissions | EnlargeNASA A satellite image shows heavy rain over the western tropical Pacific Ocean. Scientists have found the first evidence that confirms a link between a warmer climate and more powerful or "extreme" rainstorms. Yahoo! Buzz Digg Newsvine Reddit FacebookWhat's this?By Doyle Rice, USA TODAY Add heavy rainfall to the litany of expected bad news due to climate change. Along with the likelihood of more intense heat waves, wildfires, and hurricanes, a new study released today reports that extreme precipitation events are already increasing as the globe warms. This is the first actual, observed evidence that scientists say confirms the link between global warming and more powerful rainstorms. "A warmer atmosphere contains larger amounts of moisture, which boosts the intensity of heavy downpours," reports study co-author Brian Soden of the University of Miami. What's worse, the measured increase in extreme rainfall is much larger than the increase that current climate models predict, which likely means the amount of additional rainfall due to climate change is seriously underestimated. To understand how rain responds to a warming world, researchers used natural changes associated with the El Niño climate pattern as a laboratory for testing their hypotheses. El Niño is a periodic warming of the tropical Pacific Ocean that affects weather patterns around the world. FIND MORE STORIES IN: United Kingdom | Pacific Ocean | University of Miami | University of Reading | El Ni | Brian Soden Based on 20 years of satellite observations, the scientists found a direct link between tropical rainfall extremes and temperature, with heavy rain events increasing during warm periods and decreasing during cold periods. "When the climate was warmer, there was an increase in the intensity and frequency of precipitation events," says Soden. And, unfortunately, this additional rainfall won't be welcome news for drought-plagued regions, adds Soden. "The wet regions will get wetter and the dry regions will get drier." The study was also authored by Richard Allan of the University of Reading in the United Kingdom, and was published in Thursday's online edition of the journal ScienceXpress. Share this story: Yahoo! Buzz Digg Newsvine Reddit FacebookWhat's this?Posted 1d 7h ago Updated 1d 4h agoE-mail | Save | Print | Reprints & Permissions | To report corrections and clarifications, contact Reader Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more. You must be logged in to leave a comment. Log in | Register Sponsored Links "Teeth Whiteners Exposed" 7 Teeth Whitening Products Tested, Rated, and Reviewed. A Must Read! www.Best-Teeth-Whitening.com High Blood Pressure Cured Drop 30 Points in 30 Days. As Seen on Oprah and CNN. www.Hyperzosin.com No More Cellulite – Natural Botanicals Brazilian beach firming secret reduces cellulite up to 50%. Free trial www.cellulitebrazil.com Get listed here Newspaper Home Delivery - Subscribe Today Home • News • Travel • Money • Sports • Life • Tech • Weather About USATODAY.com: Site Map | FAQ | Contact Us | Jobs with Us | Terms of Service Privacy Policy/Your California Privacy Right | Media Kit | Press Room | Reprints and Permissions News Your Way: Mobile News | Email News | IM Alerts | Add USATODAY.com RSS feeds | Podcasts | Widgets Partners: USA WEEKEND | Sports Weekly | Education | Space.com Copyright 2008 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc. Become a member of the USA TODAY community now! Log in | Become a member What's this? Report item as: (required) X Obscenity/vulgarity Hate speech Personal attack Advertising/Spam Copyright/Plagiarism Other Comment: (optional)